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Kun Young-jae
Kun Young-jae (Korean: 근영재; Hanja: 斤永宰; February 11, 1919 - September 25, 2006) was a South Korean soldier and independence fighter. He fought against Japan in World War II and against North Korea and China in the Korean War. Early life and family Kun was born in the village of Yangdong in North Gyeongsang province in Japanese-occupied Korea. His mother's side of the family had been living in Yangdong for generations and were traditionally of the Yangban, the aristocracy of ancient Korea. Kun Chun-yong (1888-1967), born in Seoul, held a prominent position in the Seoul Electric Company, and moved with his family back to the capital city shortly after his son, Young-jae, was born. He was, in fact, not permitted to use this name officially or in public, as per the Sōshi-kaimei naming law. Instead, he used the Japanese name "Yōjirō" (洋次郎). In Seoul, Chun-yong moved in very prominent social circles, often doing business directly with the Japanese colonial government. As a result, Young-jae received some of the best education on hand for Koreans under Japanese rule. In 1938, Young-jae, who was interested in the prospects of a military career, applied to join the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in Asaka, Japan. He passed his examination, and was to travel to Japan the next fall to attend the academy. However, he fell in with a student-led nationalist anti-Japanese secret society in Seoul, which convinced him to decline the academy's offer of admission, much to his father's dismay. In 1939, many members of the group, including Kun, traveled to Chongqing in the Republic of China, then at war with the Japanese Empire, to offer their services to the Korean Provisional Government, a government-in-exile working to free Korea from Japanese control. Military service World War II In September 1940, the KPG officially established the Korean Liberation Army, under the overall command of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army. Kun became one of the first recruits of this new force. For several months, he underwent training given by experienced Chinese instructors, and was made a second lieutenant in the KLA's new 1st Detachment. Lieutenant Kun and the rest of the KLA, still numbering very few, were mostly occupied with propaganda and intelligence-gathering missions in this period. Kun and his men operated behind the front lines, usually out of harm's way. The KLA was still being formed as a fighting force throughout 1941 and would not be ready to go into battle against the Japanese for some time. On December 9, 1941, the Korean Provisional Government formally declared war on Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Lieutenant Kun was ordered to join a group of men from the 1st Detachment, who would infiltrate Japanese-held territory in Shandong province and conduct a guerrilla war there against the occupiers. This they did, and established their headquarters near Jinan. The Korean fighters distributed propaganda leaflets and transmitted gathered intelligence to Chinese forces. Lieutenant Kun and his men often disguised themselves as Japanese soldiers to gain estimates of Japanese troop strenth in the area. In addition, they maintaned a low-level guerrilla war, conducting sabotage and occasional ambushes against Japanese forces, assisted by the local population. Sometimes, they could recruit ethnic Koreans serving with the Japanese as spies. Lieutenant Kun and his men carried on this insurgent activity throughout 1942. Also in 1942, the Korean Provisional Government gained strength as various Korean organizations and guerrilla groups pledged allegiance to the government in Chongqing. After a reorganization, Lieutenant Kun and his men became part of the 2nd Detachment, KLA, though they continued their activities as usual. The guerrilla war, which was also being waged by different Korean cells in the neighboring provinces, soon proved very effective and helped tie down many Japanese troops through Kun's use of limited attacks, making the Japanese believe they were dealing with a larger force. However, the main contribution made by Kun and the Korean fighters was in propaganda and intelligence, as they were able to intercept Japanese communications and transmit crucial orders to Chinese NRA forces. In September 1942, the KLA moved its headquarters from Chongqing to Xi'an in Shanxi province. There, Kun was promoted to first lieutenant in recognition of his contributions. The Korean fighters carried on their activities throughout the first part of 1943, and Lieutenant Kun and his men continued to harass Japanese forces throughout Shandong province, operating around the Yellow River, moving from one area to another to avoid detection. However, certain political changes made to the government in Chongqing affected the KLA soldiers on the battlefield. Though the Republic of China was hosting the government, the KPG wanted recognition from other Allied powers too. In August 1943, Lieutenant Kun was ordered back to Chongqing, and so he and his men secretly crossed through Japanese-held territory to reach the city. There, the KLA established the Indian and Burmese Theater Task Force, a group of men who would go to fight alongside British Commonwealth forces in Burma against the Japanese. The task force departed for India in September, with Kun seeing a promotion to captain just beforehand. By December 1943 the KLA unit was attached to British and Indian forces in eastern India. The Allies and the Japanese faced each other over a tentative front line near the Indo-Burmese border. Captain Kun and his men were used by the British in a variety of ways, namely in propaganda and intelligence, scouting, and the interrogation of captured Japanese soldiers. The Korean soldiers formed an effective long-range scouting unit which was able to penetrate into Japanese-held territory on raids or scouting missions, as far east as the Chindwin River. The Japanese looked to counter these attacks, and launched an invasion of India, known as Operation U-Go, in March 1944. At the time, Captain Kun's men were stationed at Tamu near the Chindwin on the Burma frontier alongside Indian forces. When the Japanese attacked, beginning the Battle of Imphal, the Korean and Indian soldiers fought a delaying action while destroying their supplies, retreating to the Shenam Saddle series of hills on the road to Imphal. Captain Kun and the Korean soldiers fought alongside the Indians to hold the Palel airfield and the nearby hills to hold off the Japanese and Indian collaborators throughout April. By May, the Allies had broken out of their encirclement and were driving back the Japanese along the Iril River towards Litan and Ukhrul. By June, the Japanese offensive into India had been decisively broken by Allied resistance. Back in Chongqing, official control of the Korean Liberation Army passed from the Republic of China to the Korean Provisional Government, a major step in establishing national sovereignty. In November 1944 the Allies prepared for the counteroffensive into Burma, as the Japanese had withdrawn behind the Irrawaddy River. The Koreans, working as scouts, guerrillas, and light infantry troops, probed Japanese defenses as they advanced town the Gangaw Valley. In January and February 1945, Captain Kun and his men were involved in fierce battles against the Japanese defenders to secure positions east of the Irrawaddy, and they eventually succeeded in crossing it. They were also essential in the Allied capture of the crucial city of Meiktila during the Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay in March, as well as in its defense against multiple fierce Japanese counterattacks. With central Burma secure, the Allies now had a clear route to the capital city of Rangoon. During the final part of the campaign in Burma, Captain Kun and the KLA fighters had to move quickly to keep up with the Allied advance. In addition to their other duties, they were engaged in attempting to recruit ethnic Koreans from prisoners of war camps. Reinforcements also came in the form of Koreans living abroad. Throughout April, the Allies advanced down the Sittang River Valley, within striking distance of Rangoon. After the city's fall in May, Kun and his men were relieved from the front line and involved in more rear-echelon duties such as propaganda and prisoner interrogation. In July 1945, the task force departed Burma to return to China, having greatly assisted the Allied forces. In Chongqing, Captain Kun and his men were reunited with the 2nd Detachment, as well as given a new mission: the liberation of Korea itself. They were given special training by the American OSS, and reorganized to lead the new offensive against the Japanese. A preliminary invasion was called off, but in August 1945, Captain Kun and the Korean forces landed at Inchon to retake the peninsula. Initially encountering heavy Japanese resistance, the troops attempted to fight their way to Seoul, but the fighting was soon halted by a ceasefire. On September 2, 1945, the Empire of Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Powers. Occupation and Division After the Japanese surrender, the Korean peninsula was divided on the 38th Parallel, occupied by the Soviet Union in the north and the United States in the south. Kun, who was already in southern Korea, decided to pledge his support to the United States Army Military Government in Korea over all other governments claiming sovereignty, mainly out of concerns over stability and anti-Communism. In October 1945, Kun was offered a position at the rank of captain in the new American-led Korean Constabulary. There was much to do in terms of restoring law and order to the country, as the new government was not well recieved, and Captain Kun spent several weeks in Seoul helping to get the capital in order. In December 1945, he was sent, along with other Korean officers with military experience, to learn English and form the core of the new National Defense Force, established at Taenung in Seoul in January 1946. Kun Young-jae subsequently became a captain in the 1st National Security Regiment. In September, the regiment was called out to suppress the Autumn Uprising, which had been started in Busan as a violent protest against the American military government. Captain Kun, who regarded these riots as nothing more than the work of a few Communist provocateurs, agreed to put down the uprising and by November, the riots were crushed and the strikers arrested. The beginnings of the new South Korean military prompted a Red Scare in the high command and the government as fears of Communist infiltrators in the army grew. As Kun had worked alongside left-wing groups as an independence fighter, he was subject to scrutiny, but others testified on his behalf and Kun was able to keep his position. In December 1947, Captain Kun was assigned to the 11th Infantry Regiment of the newly-established 1st Infantry Brigade. In April 1948, the island of Jeju erupted in open rebellion, with clashes between protestors and police escalating into large-scale violence. Negotiations with the rebels failed to produce peace, and the military was sent to Jeju to effect a crackdown on the island. Captain Kun and the soldiers were met with stiff resistance from armed groups led by the Workers' Party of South Korea. The fighting intensified throughout the island, and atrocities against innocents were not uncommon on both sides. Kun, who had come to the island believing the revolt to be fulmented by Communist agitators looking to undermine the authority of the state, soon grew disillusioned with the mission as the security forces brutalized the population into submission. Faced with the fear of being executed in one of the army's many anti-Communist purges, Captain Kun kept his head down and followed orders, doing what little he could to save lives as entire villages were liquidated. By the end of 1948, the revolt had been all but stamped out. In August 1948, the Republic of Korea was established, as was the Republic of Korea Army. In May 1949, the 1st Brigade was upgraded to the 1st Infantry Division. Captain Kun and the 1st Division were stationed at Gorangpo on the 38th Parallel. Korean War On June 25, 1950, the military forces of North Korea attacked over the partition line in Operation Pokpoong, taking the ROK forces stationed on the border by complete surprise. In the Battle of Kaesong-Munsan, Captain Kun rallied his men and they fought hard to hold back the North Korean forces, protecting a crucial bridge over the Imjin River from being captured by the Communist forces. Faced with superior forces, they withdrew south of the Munsan hills but quickly counterattacked and regained the lost ground. However, a retreat was inevitable, and Seoul was quickly taken by the North Koreans. Throughout July, the ROK troops fought a running battle as they retreated further south, pursued by the KPA. Captain Kun and his men fought a rearguard action in the Hamch'ang and Sangju areas, preventing the North Koreans from overrunning the retreating 1st Division. By early August, they had retreated to the United Nations defensive perimeter around Busan, where the Allied forces would make their last stand. The Battle of Pusan Perimeter began in August 1950, and Captain Kun and the 1st Division were holding the line just north of the city of Taegu. In the Battle of Taegu, the North Koreans crossed the Naktong River and attacked the division's defenses in the mountains. Kun and his men held their ground against multiple fierce KPA assaults, counterattacking wherever necessary. Against all odds, the line at Taegu held. They made a limited offensive along the ridges at the Battle of the Bowling Alley, recovering some lost territory. The KPA made one final attempt to break through the Pusan Perimeter, engaging the 1st Division troops in the Battle of Tabu-dong. The ROK troops led by Captain Kun again held their ground, and by the middle of the month, the North Koreans had abandoned the Pusan Perimeter in the wake of Operation Chromite. The UN forces launched a counterattack almost immediately, and the 1st Division was tasked with crossing the Naktong River above Waegwan. Captain Kun and his men advanced rapidly throughout September, driving along the Tabu-dong-Kunwi road through the mountains in pursuit of the retreating North Koreans. Kun led the capture of the Walled City of Ka-san, cutting off the retreat of several KPA units. In October 1950, the Allies crossed the 38th Parallel, beginning their offensive into North Korea. The 1st Division crossed over the Imjin River at Korangp'o-ri, with Captain Kun leading his men on the attack against Sibyon-ni and fighting a fierce battle against the North Koreans at Miu-dong. In the Battle of Pyongyang, Kun and his men drove into the heart of the capital city, securing the airbase and the city center in the face of increasingly feeble resistance from the Communists. Attacking north once again, the ROK troops crossed the Ch'ongch'on River and fought their way towards Unsan, capturing the city and the Sui-ho dam on the Yalu River. With the United Nations forces on the Yalu River, it seemed that North Korea had been conquered and the war was over. However, military forces of the People's Republic of China crossed the border in late October and began to attack the UN positions. Captain Kun directed his men to form hasty defenses, and they met the Chinese advance in the Battle of Unsan. Holding their ground against vastly superior Chinese forces, Kun and his men finally retreated in early November, barely avoiding destruction. Regrouping further south, they counterattacked later in the month toward T'aech'on, making some early gains before a Chinese attack threw them back. Kun and his men soon recieved the full force of a Chinese offensive at Yongsan-dong in the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. Captain Kun rallied his men even as the rest of his regiment desintegrated as a result of the Chinese attack. Heavily outnumbered, they succeeded in taking T'aech'on and held their ground before being forced to retreat once more. With the UN forces facing destruction, it was decided that they would have to evacuate North Korea, which they did in December 1950, with the remnants of the ROK 1st Division pulling back south of the 38th Parallel. The 1st Division was stationed below the 38th Parallel covering the west side of Route 33, at the town of Choksong. Captain Kun's orders were to hold the enemy at the Imjin River. The Chinese launched a massive assault, beginning the Third Battle of Seoul, which smashed through the Allied front. Kun and his men desperately tried to hold onto their positions with the rest of the ROK Army falling to pieces around them. With no hope of holding back the Chinese, Captain Kun and the rest of the 1st Division retreated in early January 1951. Regrouping at Anyang, they fought a successful delaying action against a Chinese and North Korean attack before pulling back south of Suwon. Having taken the capital and exhausted their pursuit, the Communist forces halted. What followed was heavy patrolling into the enemy-held sectors by the ROK troops. In Operation Wolfhound shortly after, Captain Kun and his men advanced, recapturing both Ch'on-ni and Kumnyangjang-ni via Route 17 without contact. In February 1951, the United Nations forces began Operation Killer, an attack to regain the territory lost to the previous Chinese offensives. The 1st Division mostly acted in support of the offensive, securing positions west of the Han River. In Operation Ripper in March, Kun led his men over the Han River, securing various hills and other positions without enemy resistance. They secured the capital city of Seoul, which had been left vacant by the Communist forces. Positioned north of the city, Kun led patrols against opposing Communist forces. Though the operation had achieved its territorial gains, they KPA and PVA forces had not been sufficiently engaged. In Operation Courageous, Captain Kun and his men again advanced the UN line, moving east of Route 1 toward Munsan-ni against limited North Korean resistance. Holding the western sector of the line along the Korean peninsula, the ROK soldiers of the 1st Division made limited patrols across the Imjin River in Operation Dauntless in April 1951, but failed to make a decisive contact. It was here that the Chinese forces launched their next major counteroffensive. At the Battle of the Imjin River, Captain Kun and his men faced a massive Chinese onslaught, slowly being forced to give ground near the Korangp'o-ri bend and the adjacent town. They pulled back cautiously, fighting off Chinese attacks until they were able to stabilize the line. A North Korean attack down Route 1 threatened Kun's position, but he led a counterattack which successfully drove back the Communists. Further assaults from the Chinese and North Koreans kept Captain Kun and his men busy through the rest of April, and they withdrew once again to a position from the Han River to Route 1, where they continued to hold the line. Another Communist attack was beaten back by the South Koreans, who inflicted heavy casualties. By May, the enemy offensive had let up, and Captain Kun directed his men to engage in patrols in front of their positions north of Uijeongbu. Counterattacking, the ROK troops managed to push back the North Koreans and Chinese and regain much of the lost ground. Later in the month, they recaptured Munsan-ni, and the UN forces were back in their original positions they occupied before the Chinese offensive by June. By July 1951, a stalemate had set in all along the front, and for the rest of the war, neither side would be able to conduct large-scale offensives as they had earlier. The South Korean soldiers of the 1st Division had been holding the line in their sector on the Imjin River, until they were committed to a UN offensive in October 1951, Operation Commando. Captain Kun led his men over the river to take Kaesong, which was accomplished, helping to establish the Jamestown Line. This would be the line which the rest of the conflict would be fought over. Throughout the coming months, Captain Kun and his men set about establishing fixed defenses, not committing to any major offensive actions but sending out frequent patrols to gauge the strength of the Chinese forces opposite them. There were no major actions for the better part of the next year. In December 1952, Captain Kun and the men of the 1st Division were sent to occupy positions on the double horseshoe bend of the Imjin River, fortifying defenses on the nearby ridge. Captain Kun and his men were stationed on Little Nori. The Chinese soon attacked these positions, beginning the Battle of the Noris. Kun's unit held off the Chinese attackers on the hill, eventually retreating to Hill 69 in the face of superior enemy numbers. Kun led several counterattacks, two of which failed before his men managed to recapture Little Nori. A subsequent Chinese attack drove the South Koreans off the hill and back to Hill 69 once again, and the ROK troops retook Little Nori, but failed in their efforts to take Big Nori. A Chinese counterattack against Captain Kun's position on Little Nori was a failure, and the battle ended in stalemate. In January 1953, Kun led an attack against Big Nori which succeeded in driving back the Chinese forces, destroying their entrenchments, and retreating safely. As a result of this action, and of his meritorious conduct throughout the war, he was promoted to major. In the subsequent months, Kun directed his men on raids, harrassing the North Korean and Chinese forces opposite the UN line. The South Korean troops captured many prisoners and destroyed defensive works. By May and June, the PVA and KPA forces were launching raids of their own against the 1st Division positions, complicating matters for Major Kun. His unit was also sent to garrison outposts such as Queen, Bak, and Hill 179. In July 1953, with peace talks at Panmunjom nearing completion, the Chinese and North Korean forces launched one final major offensive to take as much territory as they could before the armistice. Major Kun and his men were faced with a massive Chinese attack all along the line, and they fought hard to hold the Communists back. Nevertheless, the 1st Division managed to hold its ground. On July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement officially ended the fighting, though the Korean conflict continued. Patrolling the DMZ Major Kun and the men of the ROK 1st Division remained in their positions after the cessation of hostilities, keeping watch on their side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), should the North Koreans or Chinese attempt anything. In 1955, after five full years on the front lines, Major Kun was rewarded with a period of extended leave, during which he visited his home village of Yangdong, but spent most of his time living in Seoul. He returned to the DMZ in May 1957, rejoining the 1st Division. By October 1958, Chinese forces had withdrawn from the peninsula, leaving the North Koreans as the only opposing force. April Revolution and Coup In the wake of the March 1960 election, which saw incumbent President Syngman Rhee retain his position, it became clear to the South Korean people that the vote had been rigged, and widespread protests broke out, first in the city of Masan but later spreading to Seoul. Major Kun was immediately deployed to the capital city, ordered to contain the protests at all costs. When given a directive to order his men to fire on a group of peaceful protestors, Kun refused, and his men provided security to the protest, deterring local police from firing on the group. He had grown disillusioned with Rhee's authoritarianism, and soon swore allegiance to the new parliament-led government. Around this time, Major Kun found himself caught up in the factionalism that plagued the Republic of Korea Army, mostly between younger reform-minded American-trained officers and older conservative Japanese-trained officers. Kun, a critic of corruption and election fraud in the government, was firmly in the former camp. He subsequently joined a group of officers formulating a military coup, which would topple the parliamentary government, which they saw as mired in corruption like its predecessor. On May 16, 1961, the coup began, with the putschists occupying parts of Seoul, gaining support as they went. Kun and his men fought a running battle with loyalist military police, but soon had secured most of the city. The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction was proclaimed, and Korea came under martial law. Kun was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel under the new regime. In 1964, Kun was sent back to the DMZ, as the North Koreans began to increase their cross-border activities. He was placed in command of the 1st Battalion, 71st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. In 1965, he expressed interest in joining one of the ROK Army units being sent to fight the insurgency in Vietnam, but this was denied as he was needed at the DMZ. Korean DMZ Conflict North Korea had been sending spies, propagandists, and saboteurs across the border for several years, and had caused much damage to the South Korean forces at the DMZ. In October 1966, Lieutenant Colonel Kun authorized a retaliatory raid, which his men undertook, causing several KPA casualties. Throughout 1967, Kun and the rest of the army continued to thwart the infiltrators' plans to set up a Communist insurgency in South Korea, such as was occurring in Vietnam. In January 1968, a squad of North Korean commandos orchestrated the Blue House raid, with the objective of assassinating President Park Chung-hee. Lieutenant Colonel Kun and the rest of the 25th Division were alerted to the infiltration, and he organized a search for the North Koreans on Nogo Mountain, but they had already left. After the commandos were repulsed at a local border checkpoint, they dispersed into small bands and fled into the mountains. Kun's men caught up with the North Koreans near Seoungu-ri and Songchu, killing several. Following the failure of the raid as well as the failure of a landing on the east coast, the North Koreans slowly began to give up their strategy of infiltration and attempting to provoke an insurgency. Kun and the 25th Division caught several North Korean spies, and the rate of infiltrations gradually decreased throughout 1968 and 1969. By December 1969, the situation at the DMZ had significantly quieted down. Retirement In January 1970, after many years of distinguished service in several wars, Lieutenant Colonel Kun Young-jae formally retired from the Republic of Korea Army. Personal life Young-jae had been raised as a Buddhist, but converted in 1940 to Methodism as he found Christianity to be more compatible with the Korean independence movement. Some of his detractors maintained that he had converted to placate the opinion of pro-Rhee hardliners in the 1950s, but this was false and Kun condemned it as such. In 1956, Kun Young-jae married Choe Su-mi, a girl from Masan who he had met while on leave. They had a daughter and a son, Ji-yeon and Ji-hwan. The family lived in Dongjak District in Seoul, and Young-jae rejoined them in 1970. On September 25, 2006, Kun Young-jae passed away in a Seoul hospital from heart failure. He was accorded a funeral with full military honors, and his achievements, most notably his determined defense of the Pusan Perimeter in 1950, were eulogized by military officials and local politicians. Views Kun had not seriously considered politics before falling in with the Korean independence movement, but after 1939 he became fully committed to the cause of freeing Korea from Japanese colonial rule. He never fully forgave his father, Chun-yong for his collaboration with the Japanese government. His firm desire for reunification later stemmed in part from his devotion to the independence movement. Though a supporter of Syngman Rhee in the 1950s (he considered the president a bastion against Communism), Kun became fed up with Rhee's corruption, and believed that his anti-Communism was simply a means to gain more political power. This culminated in his decision to disobey orders and support the protestors in the April Revolution. His anti-corruption also led him to oppose the republican government as well, and he supported Park Chung-hee throughout his presidency, citing the economic boom of the 1960s and 1970s as examples of the administration's efficacy. He would not take further political stances for a while. In 1987, Kun made a reappearance in politics, and began firmly advocating for democratization, shocking many. He supported many civilian candidates for presidency, breaking with his previous trends of supporting fellow military officers. Equipment As a soldier in the Chinese-backed Korean Liberation Army, Kun was equipped with a Type 24 Zhongzheng bolt-action rifle and a Chinese copy of the Mauser C96, with Type 23 fragmentation grenades. Attached to British forces in Burma, Kun used a Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III rifle. Equipped by American forces after the partition, Kun used the M1 Garand rifle, M1911 pistol, and Mk. II fragmentation grenade throughout the Korean War and afterwards.Category:Soldiers in World War II Category:Soldiers in the Second Sino-Japanese War Category:Soldiers in the Korean War Category:Soldiers in the Korean DMZ Conflict Category:South Korean soldiers Category:Korean soldiers